iTunes 7.4.1 is out, but the new version simply tries to break custom ringtone …

Sure, iTunes 7.4 just landed with support for the new iPods and ringtones from the iTunes Store, but who wants days-old software? Apple has wasted no time in releasing iTunes 7.4.1, which apparently serves no other purpose than to one-up ringtone hackers by breaking the "just change the file extension to .m4r" trick (though it is widely reported that simply changing the extension back to .m4a works around Apple's new roadblock). Ambrosia Software's iToner ringtone app for the iPhone apparently still works, and a new 1.0.1 version that brings iTunes 7.4 compatibility now also supports drag-and-drop for files straight out of iTunes. iToner still suffers, however, from a lack of any sort of UI for actually trimming full songs down to ringtone-friendly snippets, but it still remains one of the easiest and cost-effective ways to get ringtones onto your iPhone without paying a per-tone charge.

Back to iTunes 7.4.1, Apple is making it clear that ringtones are nothing to mess with. However, with 2006 ringtone revenues topping out at over $6 billion (often at $2.99 or more per 'tone vs. the iTunes Store's $0.99), it is more likely that the content companies are the ones mandating that iTunes crack down on users making their own ringtones (though Engadget has a nice post regarding your rights as a user to create your own 'tones). Either way, we're hoping this cat and mouse ringtone game doesn't go on for much longer; most users aren't going to go through all the trouble of creating their own ringtones (especially since the iTunes Store allows users to pick just the 30-second snippet they want), which means the content providers will rake in plenty of dough now that ringtones are an easy-breezy purchase, download, and sync via the iTunes Store.